Department for Education

Prisoners: Children

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help support children who have a parent serving a prison sentence.

David Johnston: Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018 sets out local areas’ responsibilities to provide support and services. It highlights dependent children of imprisoned parents as a cohort which practitioners should be particularly aware of and should provide the appropriate needs-based advice and support to where needed.The department’s ambition is for every family to receive the right support, at the right time. In Stable Homes, Built on Love, the department outlined its strategy for whole system reform, including family help which will provide effective and intensive support to any family facing significant challenges.Prison Mother and Baby Units Admission Boards must be in receipt of a Children’s Services assessment in order to facilitate a Board. Every assessment by a social worker should reflect children’s needs within their family and community context, which would include taking account of a parent being in prison. These children’s circumstances vary considerably and therefore local agencies are best placed to determine what support is needed, whether early help, statutory social care services, or support for other needs such as mental health.

Special Educational Needs

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department are taking to support schools to provide formal education to children with SEND.

David Johnston: In the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, published in March 2023, the department outlined its commitment to ensuring that children and young people with SEND or attending AP enjoy their childhood, achieve good outcomes and feel well prepared for adulthood and employmentTo ensure teachers have the knowledge and skills to deliver high-quality teaching for pupils with SEND, the department has implemented a ‘golden thread’ of evidence-based teacher training reforms, from initial teacher training through Early Career Framework-based induction and on to National Professional Qualifications (NPQ) for more experienced teachers. This support includes the introduction of a new leadership level NPQ for Special Educational Needs Coordinators.High needs revenue funding will rise to £10.5 billion in 2024/25, a 60% increase on 2019/20 allocations. As part of this investment, £2.6 billion of funding will support local authorities to deliver new places in mainstream, special schools and AP, and to improve the suitability of existing buildings. Through its £70 million Change Programme, the department is testing and refining the Improvement Plan reforms to improve outcomes and experiences for children and young people with SEND and their families.

Alternative Education: Special Educational Needs

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department have taken provide children with SEND who are not currently in formal education environments with access to care and adjustments to help them return to education as soon as possible.

David Johnston: School attendance is mandatory. Regular attendance at school is vital for children’s education, wellbeing and long-term development. To promote strong attendance, all schools should be calm, safe, and supportive environments where pupils and staff can thrive in safety and respect.The department understands that barriers to attendance are wide and complex, particularly for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Addressing these requires a support-first approach and strong relationships between families, schools, local authorities, and other relevant local services.When considering the appropriate action to address absence, schools and local authorities should consider the individual circumstances of each pupil and family and take the best course of action to support the child’s return to school. The department encourages parents to work with their child’s school and the local authority to discuss the reasons behind their child’s absence. They should agree together an action plan, so that the right support can be put in place to help their child to return to regular and consistent education.The department published the SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan in March 2023. This sets out the department’s longer-term plans to tackle inconsistency in the system and promote attendance through new national standards.

Pupils: Autism

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has issued guidance to schools on making adjustments to support pupils who are on the waiting list for an autism assessment.

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help schools make adjustments for (a) children and (b) young adults that are on the waiting list for an autism assessment.

David Johnston: All those working with, or commissioning services for children and young people, must have regard to the statutory Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Code of Practice: 0-25 years. This sets out clearly that early years settings, schools and colleges must use their best endeavours to make sure that a child or young person with Special Educational Needs (SEN) gets the support they need. This includes autistic children and young people. This support should be put in place at the earliest opportunity when a child or young person with SEN has been identified. There is no need to wait for a medical assessment or diagnosis.The Code states that, where it has been identified that a child or young person needs SEN support, the early years setting, school or college should work with the child or young person and the family to agree the adjustments, interventions and support to be put in place.Where an assessment of needs indicates that support from specialist services is required, it is important that children and young people receive it as quickly as possible. Agencies across education, health and care should work together to support children and young people.In the SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan, the department set out its vision to improve mainstream education through setting standards for early and accurate identification of need, including timely access to support to meet those needs. The standards will clarify the types of support that should be ordinarily available in mainstream settings, who is responsible for securing the support and from what budgets.The department will also develop new practice guides to support frontline professionals. The first three practice guides will be published by the end of 2025, focusing on advice for mainstream settings, and will include a practice guide on autism.

Special Educational Needs

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the availability of school places for children with SEND.

David Johnston: The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places for children with Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) sits with local authorities. The department supports local authorities by providing annual funding and monitors local authorities financial performance through meetings with officials, the department’s SEND advisors and through programmes such as the Safety Valve programme.The department has published over £1.5 billion of High Needs Provision Capital Allocations (HNPCA) for the 2022/23 and 2023/24 financial years. This funding is allocated to local authorities to support them deliver new places and improve existing provision for children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision (AP). Barnsley are receiving £7.1 million.This funding forms part of the department’s transformational investment of £2.6 billion in new high needs provision between 2022 and 2025. This funding is on top of the department’s ongoing delivery of new special and AP free schools.Starting from Summer 2023 the department has, for the first time, collected data from local authorities on available capacity in special schools, SEND units and resourced provision, along with corresponding forecasts of demand for these places. This data will help the department to more effectively support local authorities to fulfil their statutory duty to provide sufficient specialist places.

Alternative Education: Special Educational Needs

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children with SEND are not in formal education.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department holds regional data on the number of children with SEND who are not in formal education.

David Johnston: The department holds data on the number of children and young people with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan, including the setting in which the child or young person is typically educated or where they are not in education or training for any reason. The information is available in the National Statistics publication at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans. The data can be broken down by region and local authority.

Schools: Uniforms

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to monitor compliance with the statutory guidance entitled Cost of school uniforms, published on 19 November 2021; and if her Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of the cost of school uniforms on the level of children who do not attend school.

Nick Gibb: While it is the responsibility of school governing boards to determine their uniform policy, the Department expects schools to comply with the guidance on the cost of school uniforms. The Department continues to engage with the sector to ensure that schools are aware of their obligation to have regard to the guidance and in July 2023 published the results of a survey of school leaders looking at changes made as a result of the guidance. The survey results can be found at here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-and-college-panel-omnibus-surveys-for-2022-to-2023.The Department also continues to assess compliance with the guidance through engagement with key stakeholders, including school leaders and uniform suppliers, and via correspondence from parents.The Department has no plans to make an assessment of the potential impact of the cost of school uniform on attendance. The guidance on the cost of school uniform is clear that, where it is suspected that financial hardship has resulted in a pupil not complying with a school’s published uniform policy, schools should take a mindful and considerate approach to resolve the situation.Last year, the Government introduced strong new expectations on schools and Local Authorities to work together to tackle absence. The Department will continue to monitor attendance data to understand and assess the impact of the attendance reforms.

Sustainable Development: GCSE

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing sustainability content to GCSEs.

Nick Gibb: Topics related to climate change and the environment are already included within the respective Citizenship, Science and Geography national curricula. Existing GCSEs such as Design and Technology, Food Preparation and Nutrition, and Economics contain opportunities for students to be taught about the environmental and sustainability context of the processes and principles underlying these subjects. The Environmental Science A level is also already available.As committed to in the Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy for the Education and Children’s Services Systems, the Department is introducing a Natural History GCSE. The Natural History GCSE will allow students to engage with and study specific organisms, such as plants and animals, and the contexts in which they live, including their complex interactions and dependencies. It will develop students’ skills of observation, description, recording, and analysis, through sustained and structured field study. It will enable pupils to build on their knowledge in other subjects, in particular Science and Geography.Our strategy also commits to a National Education Nature Park and Climate Action Award, which will provide many educational opportunities for young people to take part in community science, in biodiversity monitoring and data analysis, and to translate knowledge into positive action and learn important skills for the future. Participants will have access to a comprehensive, curriculum based set of climate education resources, lesson plans, activities and schemes of work from Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stages 1 to 4, curated and devised by a wide range of very knowledgeable stakeholders.The Climate Action Award will recognise the environmental work already being done by schools and colleges. At its highest level, young people will be researching and undertaking projects that will prepare them for apprenticeships and further study in the new green economy.

Department for Work and Pensions

Department for Work and Pensions: Policy

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which minister in their Department is responsible for overseeing work on long term strategic challenges; and how many officials work in roles focused on horizon scanning and long term priorities.

Mims Davies: As Chair of the Departmental Board, the Secretary of State is responsible for overseeing work on long-term strategic challenges. The Chair is responsible for ensuring the Board – comprising of the Ministerial Team, the Executive Team and senior non-executive members from outside of government – gives sufficient attention to horizon scanning for emerging issues, monitoring performance and overseeing the management of risks. The Department’s Outcome Delivery Plan sets out how we plan to deliver outcomes for customers in the short term – responding at pace to emerging risks – and the long term regardless of current events. The priorities set out in the Plan include maximising employment and in-work progression, improving people’s quality of life and delivering excellent services for citizens and taxpayers. Horizon scanning and upholding long-term priorities is a core aspect of all policymaking and planning undertaken across the Department. Therefore, specifying which officials work in roles focused on the short or long term is prohibitively complex and expensive, and it is not possible to answer this aspect of the question.

Universal Credit: Cost of Living

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of Universal Credit for meeting average (a) food and (b) fuel costs.

Guy Opperman: In April 2023, State pensions and benefits were up rated by 10.1%, in line with the increase in the Consumer Prices Index in the year to September 2022. With regard to the adequacy of Universal Credit, the current rates of income-related benefits such as Universal Credit do not represent a minimum requirement, and are not described as such in legislation or Government literature. The Government specifies the rates which are applicable to different benefits, and these may vary according to claimants' circumstances. The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and has announced support to households to help with higher bills worth £94 billion across 2022-23 and 2023-24, one of the largest household support packages in Europe.

Universal Credit: Cost of Living

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to ensure that Universal Credit is sufficient to cover average (a) food, (b) housing and (c) energy costs.

Guy Opperman: Benefit rates and the Local Housing Allowance are reviewed annually by the Secretary of State. In April 2023, State pensions and benefits, including Universal Credit, were up rated by 10.1%, in line with the increase in the Consumer Prices Index in the year to September 2022. Claimants in receipt of housing support living in the social rented sector have their eligible rent paid in full, unless the level of housing support is reduced because of their income or savings, contributions from non-dependants, or limited by the benefit cap or the removal of the spare room subsidy. For private renters, the Local Housing Allowance determines the maximum housing support for tenants. Local Housing Allowance rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas. However, in 2020 the Government spent almost £1 billion increasing Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of market rents. This significant investment has been maintained, ensuring that everyone who benefited continues to do so. The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and has announced support to households to help with higher bills worth £94 billion across 2022-23 and 2023-24, one of the largest household support packages in Europe.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

South Sudan: Foreign Relations

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Government of South Sudan.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: I [Minister Mitchell] met South Sudanese President Salva Kiir on 20 September to discuss progress on implementation of South Sudan's Peace Agreement, including provisions for free and fair elections in December 2024. We discussed our efforts to secure peace in Sudan, UK support for education in South Sudan, and our response to the growing humanitarian crisis. I also spoke to the former South Sudanese Foreign Minister on 1 May 2023 and 20 July 2023, and met with the South Sudanese Minister for Presidential Affairs and the Minister for Education on 8 May 2023. The British Ambassador and the UK's Special Representative for Sudan and South Sudan also regularly meet with members of the Government of South Sudan and other relevant stakeholders.

Libya: Floods

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the African Union on the humanitarian response to the floods in Libya.

David Rutley: Our representatives to the African Union have been briefed on the humanitarian response to the floods in Libya. The Africa Centres for Disease control (CDC) briefed the UK alongside other countries on their planned response , in line with their statement over the weekend.

Iran: Human Rights

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the Government's policy is on the inclusion of a separate operative paragraph on the persecution of Baha’is in any potential resolution on human rights in Iran that is tabled at the 78th session of UN General Assembly; and if he will make a statement.

David Rutley: We are committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all and we have repeatedly expressed concern at Iran's ongoing discrimination against Baha'i leaders and members of the Baha'i faith. The UK highlighted Iran's treatment of Baha'is at the United Nations Third Committee in November and co-sponsored the UN General Assembly Resolution on Iran Human Rights, which calls on Iran to protect members of religious minorities including the Baha'i, and we will continue to support language on this issue. We will continue to work closely with international partners at the UN and in other fora to hold Iran to account for its dire human rights record.

Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help increase access to Human papillomavirus infection vaccinations globally.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK Government acknowledges the importance of Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations in preventing deaths from cervical cancer. As the largest donor to Gavi's core mission contributing £1.65 billion to the Global Vaccine Alliance's (Gavi) 2021-2025 strategic period, the UK supports Gavi's efforts to accelerate the introduction, access and coverage of the vaccine in low- or middle-income countries (LMICs) with the aim of immunising 86 million more girls by 2025. Alongside our Gavi investment, we are committed to working with countries and with the wider international community to focus efforts on building stronger primary health systems for the future as a core part of increasing access to immunisation services around the world.

Development Aid: Animal Welfare

Dame Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what consideration his Department makes of animal welfare when determining its aid development policies.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The 2022 Strategy for International Development (IDS) set the direction for all of the UK's international development work. It outlines a patient approach and a focused set of priorities that will drive lasting, sustainable, growth, alleviate suffering and tackle the root causes of global crises. We will use all our levers, from our diplomacy to our investment and trade, to deliver our development objectives. The Action Plan for Animal Welfare demonstrates the Government's commitment to animal welfare and how we will deliver on this commitment, both at home and abroad.

Burkina Faso: Education

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the impact of the security situation in Burkina Faso on access to education for children.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK is closely monitoring events in Burkina Faso including the worsening security and humanitarian situation. Recent analysis by the UN and NGOs indicates that high numbers of school closures are disrupting education for pupils in Burkina Faso. The UK continues to provide support for education through the Education Cannot Wait Fund, a multilateral fund which supports the provision of education interventions targeting children in emergencies, including in Burkina Faso. The UK also supports the Global Partnership for Education which supports education systems transformation globally, including in Burkina Faso.

G20: African Union

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of the African Union being made a permanent member of the G20 on that organisation.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Africa's share of the world's population is forecast to double from 18 percent today to 37 percent by 2100, so African countries need a louder voice on the international stage. Recognising this, the Integrated Review refresh sets out the Government's support of greater African representation in multilateral institutions. The Government supported, and welcomes, the African Union becoming a permanent member of the G20. The pan-African membership of the African Union means it is uniquely placed to represent the interests of the entire African continent.

Department for Business and Trade

Minimum Wage

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make it her policy to require workers to be paid at least (a) £10.90 per hour in the UK and (b) £11.95 per hour in London.

Kevin Hollinrake: In April 2023, the National Living Wage (NLW) rose by a record amount, to £10.42 an hour. The annual minimum wage rates are based on recommendations of the Low Pay Commission (LPC), an independent body which draws on a range of research and stakeholder evidence to strike a balance between support for low paid workers, affordability for business and the impact on the wider economy. The Government praises those organisations which are able to go further than the statutory minimum rates, but the figures endorsed by the Living Wage Foundation for London and the rest of the UK are voluntary.

Home Office

Asylum: Interviews

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2023 to Question 195180 on asylum applications, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications of (a) conducting shorter asylum interviews and (b) removing asylum interviews on the accuracy of decision making.

Robert Jenrick: Once a claimant has been interviewed, asylum decision-makers carefully consider their protection needs by assessing all the evidence provided, in light of published country information guidance.We have taken immediate action to speed up asylum processing whilst maintaining the integrity of the system. This includes simplifying guidance and streamlining processes. We have also introduced shorter, focussed interviews, making the interview process more efficient.

Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

Dame Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had recent discussions with her French counterpart on the potential merits of preventing small boats from crossing the Channel by intercepting them mid-journey.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Secretary and I engage regularly with our French counterparts on the issue of small boat crossings.Our joint work with France saw nearly 33,000 crossings prevented in 2022, 40% more than in 2021, and so far in 2023 a further 15,000 migrants have failed to reach our shores on small boats. Alongside this, since July 2020, the UK-France Joint Intelligence Cell (JIC) and French law enforcement partners have dismantled 82 organised crime groups linked to small boats. In 2022 alone, the JIC and French law enforcement partners secured the arrest of around 400 people smugglers.

Online Capability Centre: Finance

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's press release entitled new tech partnership to stop the boats, published 6 August 2023, whether social media companies are providing funding for Online Capability Centre.

Robert Jenrick: Officials and law enforcement work alongside social media companies in the OCC to identify harmful OIC content on their platforms and remove it as quickly as possible. Social media companies are not providing any funding for the centre. Funding for the Online Capability Centre is provided as part of Project Invigor. In December 2023, as part of the Prime Minister's Ten Point Plan, it was announced that the funding available for Project Invigor was to be doubled for the next two financial years (2023-24 and 2024-25) Officials and law enforcement will work alongside social media companies in the OCC and continue with engagement (similar to the Social Media Action Plan) to identify harmful OIC content on the companies platforms and work together to proactively remove it as quickly as possible.

Short-term Holding Facilities: Paintings

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which immigration centres have painted over murals welcoming lone child refugees.

Robert Jenrick: The murals in question were painted over in the Kent Intake Unit at Dover.The overwhelming majority of unaccompanied children who passed through the location last year were largely teenagers. It was not felt that the murals were age appropriate. We provide high-quality facilities at the Kent Intake Unit, which is fully equipped to meet all the needs of unaccompanied children upon arrival in the UK. Our priority is to move children on from the facility as quickly as possible, into a suitable Local Authority placement.

Immigration Removal Centres: Domestic Visits

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Minister for Immigration has visited an immigration detention centre since 20 July 2023.

Robert Jenrick: The Minister for Immigration conducts visits, and host meetings, on the whole spectrum of Immigration business regularly.Information on Ministers’ meetings is released quarterly as part of Government transparency and accountability data and is available at: Home Office: ministerial gifts, hospitality, travel and meetings, January to March 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Asylum: Applications

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2023 to Question 195180 on Asylum: Applications, what recent progress her Department has made on establishing an online portal for (a) document exchange and (b) providing updates on the status of asylum claims.

Robert Jenrick: An early version of a portal has been tested.The initial release focusses on the download element of document exchange, with future releases allowing for document upload. In time the portal will enable asylum seekers to access real time updates on their case.

Artificial Intelligence: Crime Prevention

Dame Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to use artificial intelligence to help (a) predict and (b) prevent incidents of (i) rape and (ii) other sexual assaults.

Chris Philp: Rape and sexual violence are devastating crimes that can have a long-lasting impact on victims. Protecting women and girls from violence and supporting victims and survivors of sexual violence is a key priority for this Government.The Home Office is working across government and with operational partners to develop our understanding of the threats and opportunities presented by artificial intelligence. The Home Office is also actively exploring and investigating options to use AI to both prevent and detect crime, including rape and sexual assault.To help improve the police response to these crimes, we invested £9.4 million (2021-23) in Operation Soteria to develop a new National Operating Model for the investigation of rape. Frontline policing and academics across 19 forces were bought together to test new tools and techniques which form this new approach, and all forces in England and Wales are now implementing it.

Artificial Intelligence: Crime Prevention

Dame Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to use artificial intelligence to help (a) predict and (b) prevent violent attacks involving (i) machetes and (ii) zombie knives.

Chris Philp: The Home Office is working across government and with operational partners to develop our understanding of the threats and opportunities presented by artificial intelligence. The Home Office has already convened and will be convening further meetings to identify the best opportunities to use artificial intelligence to prevent and detect crime of various types. The use of artificial intelligence to predict and prevent serious violence is an operational matter for Chief Constables.Knife crime is below its pre-pandemic level and the Home Office is investing over £110m to tackle serious violence in 2023/24. This includes:Violence Reduction Units and hotspot policing in the 20 areas worst affected by serious violence;A Serious Violence Duty which legally requires specified agencies to work together to reduce serious violence locally;Piloting Serious Violence Reduction Orders to give the police the power to stop and search adults already convicted of knife or offensive weapons offences; andThe Homicide Prevention Fund to help national policing organisations and local forces trial new initiatives and approaches.We are also banning certain types of large knives (such as zombie style knives and machetes), giving the police more powers to seize dangerous weapons, creating a new offence of possession of a bladed weapon with an intent to harm, and increasing sentences for those who import, manufacture or sell dangerous weapons to under 18s.

British Nationality

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether new British citizens receive a letter congratulating them on obtaining British citizenship.

Robert Jenrick: All individuals who attend a citizenship ceremony to become a British Citizen receive a welcome pack which includes a letter from the Secretary of State for the Home Department welcoming them into our national community.

Department for Transport

Parking Offences: Pedestrian Areas

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps he has taken to tackle illegal pavement parking.

Mr Richard Holden: We undertook a consultation on the options to tackle pavement parking outside London. We are currently working through the policy options and the possible legislative opportunities for delivering them and as soon as those matters are certain we will publish our formal response. I can assure you this is a priority for us and that we will announce next steps for policy as soon as possible. The formal consultation response will be available to view at: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/managing-pavement-parking.Under the Road Traffic Act 1984, councils outside London have the power to prohibit pavement parking by introducing local laws through Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs); and the Department looks to local authorities to use these traffic management powers where problems occur.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Animal and Plant Health Agency

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she last met with the Chief Executive of the Animal and Plant Health Agency.

Mark Spencer: The Secretary of State has regular meetings with the Chief Executives of Defra’s arms’ length bodies, including the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).

Antimicrobials: Drug Resistance

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress her Department has made on the Antimicrobial Resistance National Action Plan.

Mark Spencer: The UK takes a One Health approach to controlling antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and Defra is a co-signatory with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) of the UK's AMR five-year National Action Plan (NAP, 2019-24) and the UK's 20-year Vision to Contain and Control AMR by 2040. Defra leads on the animal, plant and environment elements of the NAP. Results from the UK Veterinary Antibiotic Resistance Sales and Surveillance Report 2021 showed that since 2014 the UK has achieved a 55% reduction in antibiotic use in food-producing animals, and over this same period the UK has seen an overall trend of decreasing AMR in bacteria from animals. The UK is now in the process of developing the second five-year NAP, which will run from 2024-29. This is being developed in consultation with a broad range of stakeholders across different sectors and will be informed by the findings from the AMR Call for Evidence. The 2024-29 NAP will build on progress made in the 2019-24 NAP and set out challenging ambitions and actions for the next five years, which will set us on course for achieving our long-term national and international ambitions.

Water: Pollution

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what length of time warnings are required to be displayed at bathing water sites where there has been an indication of high faecal organisms in the water.

Rebecca Pow: There is no statutory requirement for warnings to be displayed after samples confirm a high level of faecal indicator organisms in the water. However, at bathing waters where there are predictable factors that are shown to influence water quality, the Environment Agency warns bathers of any potential periods of short-term reduced water quality through its Pollution Risk Forecasting system.

Water: Standards

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department holds data on the number of occasions when local authorities have not provided information on quality of bathing water at specific sites.

Rebecca Pow: The Bathing Water Regulations require local authorities to display information about the bathing water quality at designated sites, enabling people to make informed decisions before swimming. Compliance with bathing water signs is improving. Defra’s data for 2022 shows that 88% of all bathing waters in England had signage displaying the required information – this is compared with 59% in 2017. Defra continues to engage directly with local authorities that may not be displaying appropriate signage to ensure they understand their responsibilities under the regulations and to improve compliance.

Department of Health and Social Care

Primodos: Compensation

Sir Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to take steps to secure financial redress for the victims of Primodos.

Maria Caulfield: The Government published its response to the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety (IMMDS) review in July 2021, which did not accept the recommendation to establish separate redress schemes for the three interventions covered by the review. This included a redress scheme for those harmed by Primodos.Our priority is to make medicines and devices safer, and the Government is pursuing a wide range of activity to further this aim. The 2021 response, and the Government’s December 2022 update to the response, explains the changes that have been put in place since the IMMDS Review report’s publication, and the further action the Government will take to implement the recommendations accepted and to improve patient safety.In the recent House of Commons debate of 7 September 2023 on hormone pregnancy tests, I committed to review the outstanding recommendations in relation to Primodos.

Primodos: Side Effects

Sir Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has held discussions with Bayer on the potential effects of Primodos.

Maria Caulfield: Whilst the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has not had discussions with Bayer more broadly on the topic of Primodos and adverse effects in pregnancy, it has held discussions with Bayer on whether Bayer held scientific data for consideration by the Expert Working Group on Hormonal Pregnancy Tests. All data considered by the Group were published, and further discussions between MHRA and Bayer were therefore held to discuss whether the data required redaction of names or personal information prior to publication.

Autism: Research

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Autism Strategy, whether he plans to publish the research action plan for autism.

Maria Caulfield: The National strategy for autistic children, young people and adults: 2021 to 2026 included a commitment to develop a research action plan, setting out actions we will take to improve autism research and embed a culture of autism research by 2026.We are currently prioritising updating the Autism Act statutory guidance to support the National Health Service and local authorities to deliver improved outcomes for autistic people in line with the national strategy. Following completion of the Autism Statutory Guidance, the Department will consider next steps in relation to a research action plan for autism.In March 2022, NHS England published a five-year NHS autism research strategy which aims to facilitate the use of the best current evidence when making decisions about autism services provided by or paid for by the NHS in England.

Baby Care Units: Safety

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure the safety of babies in neonatal units in the context of the Lucy Letby case.

Maria Caulfield: Most families have a positive experience of neonatal care thanks to the dedication and expertise of National Health Service clinical teams. The neonatal mortality rate for England (for births at 24 weeks gestation and over), has fallen by 30.4% since 2010 to 1.37 per 1,000 live births in 2021, the year for which the most recent data is held. There would have been 355 more neonatal deaths in 2021 if the neonatal mortality rate had been the same as in 2010.This autumn, the new Patient Safety Incident Response Framework will be implemented across the NHS, representing a significant shift in the way we respond to patient safety incidents, with a sharper focus on data and understanding how incidents happen, engaging with families and taking effective steps to improve and deliver safer care for patients.The NHS is taking decisive steps to strengthen patient safety monitoring, and the national roll-out of medical examiners has created additional safeguards since 2021, ensuring independent scrutiny of all deaths not investigated by a coroner, and improving data quality.The maternity and neonatal delivery plan, published this year, sets out what the NHS will do over the next three years to improve care to make it safer, more personalised and more equitable. Since 2021, NHS England has invested an additional £165 million per year to improve maternity and neonatal care.

Health Services: Pilot Schemes

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with NHS England about funding for the Cavell Centres national pilot scheme.

Will Quince: My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and Departmental officials hold regular discussions with NHS England on a range of topics, including the Cavell Centre programme.There is no dedicated national capital funding for the Cavell Centre programme during this Spending Review period. Integrated care boards can prioritise funds for schemes from their capital funding allocations, where these are a local priority.

Patients: Safety

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that the NHS responds to concerns raised by staff about potential harm to patients (a) appropriately and (b) swiftly.

Maria Caulfield: Last year, NHS England rolled out a strengthened Freedom to Speak Up policy, which covers the importance of listening to concerns and responding to concerns that are raised. All organisations providing services within the National Health Service are expected to adopt the updated national policy by 31 January 2024 at the latest. The National Guardian’s Office has also produced a training package aimed at all workers, including managers and senior leaders, which underlines the importance of responding to and acting on staff concerns.There is also a network of Freedom to Speak Up Guardians, covering every trust, whose role includes ensuring the person who raises a concern is responded to and receives feedback on the actions taken.Following the outcome of the trial of Lucy Letby, NHS England wrote to all NHS trusts to further emphasise the importance of NHS leaders listening to the concerns of patients, families and staff and following whistleblowing procedures.

Medical Records: Vaccination

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS England's new in-house IT system that will replace the National Immunisation Management Service will include (a) a single data store holding vaccination records for all people, (b) a call and recall service that can identify and contact groups of eligible people according to age and clinical priority, (c) reporting and analysing of vaccination activity in near real time and (d) other functionality that is available through the existing system.

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the readiness of NHS England's new in-house IT system that will replace the National Immunisation Management Service.

Maria Caulfield: The National Health Service is supporting this year’s autumn/winter vaccination campaign using a combination of existing technology/services and newly developed products to replace the functionality previously provided by the National Immunisation Management Service. The new data system has continuity with the previous system and provides the same data management options previously used. An assessment of the readiness of the new systems was carried out as part of vaccination launch preparations.

Autism: Health Services

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to reduce the backlog of 143,119 people waiting for an autism assessment.

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the backlog of people waiting for an autism assessment.

Maria Caulfield: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Rt Hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells on 8 September 2023 to Question 195909.

Care Quality Commission: Standards

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of service level agreements relating to processing (a) safeguarding (i) alerts and (ii) concerns and (b) whistleblowing have been reached at the Care Quality Commission in the last two months.

Maria Caulfield: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) receives feedback on care through its dedicated digital service, 'Give feedback on care', and its National Customer Service Centre (NCSC). As well as online through the digital service, healthcare staff or members of the public can contact CQC via phone, email or letter. When CQC receives a safeguarding and/or whistleblowing concern, this is received by the NCSC team who will triage and prioritise the concern for further action. Highest priority alerts are sent to the relevant local authority for further action, as they have the powers to intervene if necessary. For the last two months CQC processed 6,219 safeguarding enquiries, including both alerts and concerns and it received and processed 1,888 whistleblowing enquiries. In July 2023, CQC launched their new digital platform, which has already shown substantial increase in the number of safeguarding enquiries in August.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Rented Housing: Concrete

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will issue guidance to (a) residents and (b) landlords on the risk of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in (i) social housing and (ii) the private rented sector.

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will issue guidance to local authorities on the risk of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete within their estates.

Lee Rowley: I refer the Hon. Member to my answer to Question UIN 197493 on 11 September 2023.

Housing: Insulation

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent estimate he has made of the number of non-qualifying leaseholders who will pay uncapped remediation costs for non-cladding defects in residential buildings.

Lee Rowley: The department does not hold the data requested. There are, however, significant protections that apply to all leaseholders. All leaseholders in buildings of at least 11 metres or five storeys are protected from all historical safety remediation costs if their landlord is, or is associated with, the developer, or where the developer has signed our developer remediation contract; they will also benefit from qualifying status for their principal residence if it is in such a building. In addition, remediation contribution orders and the Defective Premises Act enable leaseholders in relevant buildings to attempt to recover remediation costs from those responsible, whatever the qualifying status of the leaseholder.

Buildings: Insulation

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that developers under self-remediation contracts (a) start and (b) complete (i) cladding and (ii) non-cladding remediation projects in a timely manner.

Lee Rowley: Developers who have signed the developer remediation contract are obliged to identify, assess and remediate and/or mitigate buildings as soon as reasonably practicable, and to report to the department on progress quarterly. The department is closely monitoring progress and holding regular discussions with developers to enforce compliance with their contractual obligations. We will not hesitate to act if developers fail to comply with their obligations and will soon publish data about the progress they are making.The Government launched a statutory Responsible Actors Scheme in July, which means that developers face significant prohibitions if they fail to comply with their contractual obligations.

Buildings: Insulation

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of launching a pilot building safety remediation scheme for buildings under 11 metres in height.

Lee Rowley: The Government has implemented a risk-based and proportionate approach to regulating safety in residential buildings and in remediating cladding and other building safety defects. In general, the risk to life in lower-rise buildings is low and can be mitigated, for example, by installing fire alarms.We are aware of a very small number of buildings under 11 metres where expensive remediation is proposed. We have written to freeholders and managing agents in affected buildings to make sure that any proposed works are necessary and proportionate and the rights to redress are being fully utilised.Any leaseholders concerned about works being proposed in their building can seek free information and advice from The Leasehold Advisory Service, funded by the department.

Incontinence

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department plans to make an assessment of the adequacy of Approved Document M for ensuring that men who experience incontinence can access sanitary bins.

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will take steps to ensure that the consultation entitled Toilet provision in buildings other than dwellings, published on 13 August 2023, includes the consideration of equal provision of sanitary bins in male and female toilets.

Lee Rowley: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 195483 on the 6 September 2023.

Housing: Fire Prevention

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing funding for all fire safety remediation up-front on a full building basis and recovering costs at a later date from any responsible parties on residents living within buildings requiring remediation work.

Lee Rowley: The Government has made significant taxpayer available funding to mitigate and resolve cladding related issues in buildings over 11m in England. It has also ensured, through the Building Safety Act, that building owners and landlords who built defective buildings, or are associated with those responsible, contribute to remedying historical safety defects for both cladding and non-cladding defects. Landlords that meet the cost contribution test must not pass on any costs relating to historical safety defects to qualifying leaseholders.

Help to Buy Scheme

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that the Help to Buy scheme gives timely responses to enquiries from homeowners.

Rachel Maclean: I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the answers given to Question UIN 192863 and 194924 on 13 and 24 July 2023.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Sizewell C Power Station: Investment

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 7 September 2023 to Question 195847 on Sizewell C Power Station: Construction, if she will issue a breakdown of all Sizewell C projects the Government has provided public investment for in financial year 2021-22; and what the Government's planned expenditure on Sizewell C in financial year 2022-2023 is.

Andrew Bowie: For financial year 2021-22, an investment of £100m by EDF in the Sizewell C project in January 2022 was provided by the Government through the Combined Option Agreement. In the same financial year, the Government provided a further £0.24m of innovation funding in 2021/22 to Sizewell C, together with partner organisations, through Phase 1 of the Direct Air Capture and other Greenhouse Gas Removal technologies competition, part of the Government’s Net Zero Innovation Portfolio. In the financial year 2022-23, the Government’s planned expenditure on developing the Sizewell C project is £860m, with a further £0.5m provided as part of Phase 2 of the Direct Air Capture and other Greenhouse Gas Removal technologies competition.